adventures at the airport and other random musings

Month: August 2018

What? We’re coming up on the end of summer already? Noooo! Say it ain’t so! The month of August has just flown by… pun intended! Here’s a bit about what I’ve been up to.

Aviation Day

For the first time in a long time (and possibly ever) my airport celebrated National Aviation Day! I used to bring in cupcakes and host a little celebration just for my department. This year, however, the suggestion was made to scale it up and involve the entire airport. A team of employees planned the event, which included music, popcorn, a paper airplane contest, historical artifacts and more. I can’t begin to tell you how awesome it was to see so many people celebrating our industry and our history.

AAviation Day

A week before my airport’s celebration, I had the pleasure of once again attending AAviation Day with American Airlines and the AirlineGeeks.com, this time at PHL. My very first flight ever was from PHL to JFK, so being able to revisit the airport all these years later was quite special. As part of the behind-the-scenes tour we visited the maintenance hangar, the ground equipment maintenance facility, the pharmaceutical cargo facility and we got to go on board an A330. The lie-flat seats in first class are pretty darn sweet! Along the way we met a number of American Airlines employees, including the VP of Hub Operations. It was great to get to interact with some of the hard-working people behind the scenes.

Podcasts

If you’d like to hear more about AAviation Day in PHL, as well as my latest adventures at the airport, then you don’t want to miss episode 517 of the Airplane Geeks Podcast! I had such a great time chatting with hosts Max, Max and David. We talked about everything from the impressive growth we are seeing at my cargo airport, to the importance of airport outreach, to my favorite subject… stairs trucks! It was so much fun! A big thanks to The Geeks for inviting me back!

I also had the tremendous pleasure of being a guest on the Podcasting on a Plane podcast. I spoke with host Brandon Gonzales (a private pilot and tower controller) about my adventures at Osh18, including an in-depth conversation about my visit to the ATC tower. Brandon and I are both passionate about encouraging others to pursue careers in aviation so we also discussed how I landed my airport job… again, pun intended! I really enjoy this podcast so if you aren’t familiar with it, give it a listen. The episode with my interview will be out in September – mark your calendar and keep an eye on your podcast app!

So Many C-17s

I love it when military planes stop by the airport. The sight of a KC-135 practicing approaches or a T-38 at the FBO never fails to make me smile. The C-17 is typically an infrequent guest – one or two visits each year is the most I can hope for. That is, until this year. I don’t know what the heck is going on but suddenly C-17s are everywhere!

It started with my trip to the USAF Museum in Dayton back in May. I was there to see the Memphis Belle exhibit but was thrilled to also see a C-17 practicing approaches into nearby Wright Patterson AFB. I had never seen a C-17 fly around like that before. So cool! At least that’s what I thought at the time.

Another C-17 was waiting to greet me at the Udvar Hazy Center when I attended Innovations in Flight in June. This one was on static display so I was able to go inside and take a good look around. Fun! But then… I went to the Dayton Air Show and guess what was there? Yep. Another C-17. Well, OK – it’s normal to see C-17s at air shows, right? That being the case, I wasn’t surprised that there were multiple C-17s at Airventure Oshkosh. There was one on static display and one or two others that actually performed in the airshows. By the time Osh ended I have to admit I was starting to feel a bit of C-17 overload.

I returned to work thinking that finally I would get a break. WRONG! In the first couple weeks back I saw three of them. THREE! And then a week later there was another. Last week I decided to wander over and see what bizjets were parked at the FBO. Guess what I found sitting on the ramp? Yep! ANOTHER C-17! I love C-17s but this is getting out of hand. Look, C-17, you’re an amazing airplane with impressive capabilities and you can rock an airshow with the best of them, but enough is enough. Seriously. Just stop.

There’s this strange time warp thing that happens the week of Airventure. For some reason that week goes by faster than any other week of the year. I arrived on Saturday looking forward to a glorious 7 days of airplanes and friends, then *poof* just like that I’m back home again. At Osh time really does fly! Here’s a look at my last couple of days at the world’s best aviation playground.

Days Four and Five

I didn’t think anything could top my Wednesday visit to the tower, but Thursday came very close when I had the amazing opportunity to meet SEAN D TUCKER! The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is beginning a seven year renovation project. When they finish there will be a new exhibit which will feature one of Sean D Tucker’s airplanes, which will be hung upside down (of course) at the entrance to the gallery. After the press conference he posed for pictures by his plane. I was overcome by a sudden case of shyness, but Sean D saw me and called me over. He’s such a great person!

The other big event on Thursday was a visit to the Seaplane Base. I have been trying to get over there for years and was so excited to finally make it. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that the Seaplane Base is an oasis. It’s set on a lagoon in the middle of the woods and it is calm and peaceful. We took the boat tour which only takes about ten minutes and is totally worth it.

Thursday concluded with the night show, which was rained out on Wednesday and then rescheduled. HUGE shout-out to EAA for doing that! I was so sad to think I wouldn’t see a night show this year and was thrilled that I got to see one after all. There were all the usual night displays we’ve come to love, but this year they added a drone display. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was actually pretty cool. They used around 100 drones with colored lights to create various shapes and patterns.

Watching the fireworks with Doc – it’s a tradition!

Friday was a quiet day. I spent some time in the warbirds area watching the activity on runway 27/9. Then I traveled down to the vintage area to watch the air show with friends. It was nice to have a day to relax and take in the sights.

Only at Osh

The expression “only at Osh” is often used by attendees to indicate an event or happening that is unique to Airventure. I had several of those moments. Visiting the ATC tower was one. Meeting Sean D Tucker was definitely another. Another happened when Mike’s friend told us we could find him “near the T-6 with the flag.” At any other event that would be sufficient information to find his location. At Osh, however, we searched row after row after row of T-6s and eventually had to call back for a better meeting spot.

I asked some of my friends on social media to share their “Only at Osh” moments. For some it was about the airplanes and the over-all experience:

For others, it was about the people:

And for many it was a combination of things:

For me what makes Osh truly special is… well, Osh! It’s the place where I see more airplanes on my way to breakfast than I’ll see in a month at home. It’s the place where I get to spend time with some of my very favorite people. It’s the place where I get to watch airport operations to my heart’s content. And, of course, it’s the place where the coolest stairs trucks are. I’m ready for Osh 19! Hope to see you there!

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